ci5hq | Before you read a Prosfic...

Somewhere along the way I've picked up the impression that Pros fans tend to be divided most strongly into either slash, gen or het (or various combinations thereof) readers, and that it is on this basis first that we decide whether or not to read a particular Prosfic story. Following an interesting discussion a few weeks ago about labels/categories/warnings etc on Prosfic, Circuit Archive is experimenting with including other information in their lj (and presumably other) updates, and this has got me thinking about it all again - in a rather needs-first-coffee-of-the-morning kind of way!

Basically, I know that I hate all warnings etc on a Prosfic story that I'm about to read, except that I'd like to know whether it's slash, gen or het, because I adore slash, I'll read gen if there's some reason to (or a chance of adding my own subtext!) and I don't want to touch het with a bargepole... a very long bargepole! During the discussion, I came across the idea that most people would view a label of slash, het or gen (or the story's pairings, which actually is a much smarter way of telling us whether it's slash, het or gen!) as the same kind of "spoiler" as, say a deathfic warning, which completely surprised me, took me aback, and got me thinking even more... *g*

And then I remembered that lj lets you do those poll-thingies, and wondered if I might try one of those... though I'd like to hear what people think as well as just seeing numbers, so please do comment as well! So - what kind of, if any, information do you look for before you read a Pros story? (And I'm not really going for the to-warn-about-deathfic/rape/non-consensual debate here, although I've included it in my question and I'm curious about numbers there too, it's more the broader sense of the question - and do we care about age ratings? Are there other things people consider that I've never even thought of?!) So, without further ado:

[Poll #1043269]
I've never tried doing a poll before, so here's hoping it works - do let me know if you have problems... Oh, it looks like you have to vote first, and hit submit, and then comment afterwards - you can't comment and vote at the same time (I just tried it...)! And non-lj members can't vote (says lj, not us), but you can still comment!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The only thing I really need/want to know is it's slash or not, above or below NC17 *G*
I do read Gen (and consider it different from Het, basically in that Het inplies graphic het sex, whereas Gen fades to black) and Het, however. For Pros, that's all I really want, anything else is a damn spoiler in my eyes, and that's why I love the Roses & Lavender zines, because they have the spoilers, I mean, headers and warnings in the back and upside-down.

:)

Oh, interesting - so how far can gen go before it becomes either het or slash then? Are slash/het fics those which contain "NC-17" sex (by the way, what is that - how explicit is explicit?) I was under the impression, too, that gen writers are often adamantly against any romantic/sexually oriented relationship between the lads - but your definition might mean that the lads could do some fairly heavy snogging and groping (*g*) but it could fade to black before actual sex and so still be called gen, for you?

And yeah, I love the Roses and Lavender zines for that too! And the fab stories... *g*

Ahmmm, well, now I'm truly confused. I've never heard m/m or f/f called "gen" just because it might be a G rated story. I've written plenty of m/m G-rated stories, but they're still slash. Slash is a same sex relationship. And gen (general) can include het sex. At least, that's the way I've always seen it described/warned/archived. If Bodie and/or Doyle are in a sexual relationship, but in the story, one is in ICU and there is no sex, does that mean some people would call that gen? I admit, I've never heard that take before.

I've heard what seem to me to be some odd definitions of gen, which is why I thought I'd ask... *g* I'm with you about the sexual relationship = slash, whether it's explicitly depicted in a particular fic or not!

But if gen can include het sex, then why have a het category?

I think "het" is a fairly new category. I started reading fanfic in 2001, and started in gen. There were sexual relationships in gen between men and women. I don't remember seeing "het" used as a label until more recently. I remember under gen, stories would also be labeled "adult", which usually meant explicit m/f. I don't know if anybody uses adult as a label any more.

Heee, have been sleeping on my feet all day, sorry, I wasn't clear :)

Gen (in my interpretation) is the closest to Pros canon, which generally means possible het relationships (but not terribly important, let's say the girl of the week), and fades to black. I've read Gen that I could interpret as pre-slash (Kate Nuerberg series comes to mind - Bodie does offer, and Doyle...well, refuses, but in such an awkward, unsure way that you have to wonder!), but only inasmuch as it was my interpretation. *G*

Slash: homosexual take on the Lads, from the holding hands and choosing curtains to the fuckbuddies with ulcers to anything in between (and yes, for me slash doesn't equal gay, but that's an entry I wrote sometime ago *G*) there can be uncertainty on the way to get there, or they can be together right from the start, whatever...slash means, to me, that the focus of the story is about B and D's relationship with each other, in whatever way it goes.

NC17: for me, equals to explicit naming of parts and insertion of parts in tabs, graphically explained ;) written equivalent of a hard core p0rn film, basically, only with the proviso that hopefully the writer is good enough to go beyond that and make it significant in the context of the story - which PWPs can do, really ;)

Het (again, for me) means the Lads involved in a m/f relationship that is paramount for them, that is, Doyle is not the love of Bodie's life, Doyle's little sister is, or a series of pretty pub female customers or hostesses or what have you *G* whether an OC or a female character from the series, one or both the Lads are heterosexually inclined and do not consider each other in that sense at all, even if their working relationship and their friendship is not in question.

Makes more sense? :)

Makes total sense! (passes peppermint lotion for feet, and camomile tea for sleepiness...)

I've read alot of gen that I interpret as pre-slash - LRH Balzar's fab stories come to mind, and that's really the only reason I'll read gen, to be honest! 'course sometimes it backfires too, cos I'll be reading along, thinking ooh, it's going to happen any minute now! and suddenly I'm at the end of the story going but... but..!

Totally with you on the Slash and NC-17 definitions - though I'm always curious about how individual archivists will interpet the "ratings". What words trigger the alarm bell, why some and not others, etc... I mean, I gather it's hard and controversial enough for the qualified... erm... ratings-persons (!)

So the focus of a het story is the relationship between one of the lads and a female, to distinguish it from a gen story, where the focus is not any sort of relationship at all...

Yeah, I think all of the above is what I tend to assume when reading... so techically a gen story can be NC-17 too... Like Rebelcat's, for the Discovered In Graceland challenge...

so techically a gen story can be NC-17 too

yep, absolutely :)

Before you read a Prosfic...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject